Kathleen Nicholas is a senior government affairs specialist in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. She assists clients on policy issues related to the energy, environment, agriculture, and technology sectors. Ms. Nicholas also manages the D.C. office's team of government affairs specialists and the Lloyd Meeds Fellowship Program.

Jeff Denham is a government affairs counselor in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. A member of the public policy and law practice group, he brings significant transportation and infrastructure policy, agriculture, natural resources, and energy experience to the firm.

He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where he served four terms, from 2010 to 2018, representing California's 10th and formerly 19th districts. He was a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he was the chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials and the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management. He was also a member of the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Veterans' Affairs Committees. During his eight years in Congress, Mr. Denham helped draft dozens of bills that were subsequently signed into law, such as the 2012 Veterans Skills to Jobs Act; the 2015 Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act; the 2018 ENLIST Act; and Stafford Act revisions as a part of the 2013 Sandy Recovery Improvement Act.

From 2001 to 2009, before his election to the U.S. House of Representatives, he was a member of the California State Senate, representing the 12th District of California which encompassed the counties of Monterey, San Benito, Madera, Merced, and Stanislaus. He was chairman of the Agriculture Committee and Veterans' Affairs Committee and focused on issues that included education, government waste, agriculture, and economic development.

A Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force, he served in Operation Desert Storm with the 452nd Air Force Refueling Wing and was awarded a Meritorious Service Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal, and various campaign medals for combat duty. Additionally, he served in Operation Restore Hope with the 349th AMW and was awarded a second Meritorious Service Medal and various campaign medals for duty.

Mr. Denham is the Founder of Denham Plastics LLC, a full-service provider of plastic material handling solutions, in addition to owning an almond farm in California.

Mr. Aliferis is a government affairs advisor in the firm's Washington, D.C., office. He focuses on federal funding issues as well as policy matters involving energy, transportation, the environment and telecommunications.

Prior to joining K&L Gates, Mr. Aliferis served as director of government affairs for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, where he analyzed and monitored energy, environmental, and tax issues affecting the automobile industry. In this capacity, he was directly responsible for developing strategic options, legislative proposals, and media correspondence. Mr. Aliferis drafted congressional testimony for both the House and Senate committees, and served in an advisory role to member companies on relevant legislation. He also acted as a liaison with congressional offices to explain and advance industry positions, and coordinated activities with the House and Senate Auto Caucus.

Mr. Aliferis has an extensive legislative background, serving for nine years under Congressman Fred Upton, former Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce committee. As the legislative director and principal policy advisor in the office, Mr. Aliferis was responsible for the development and oversight of Congressman Upton's legislative agenda in the House of Representatives. He handled telecommunications and media issues under consideration by the House Energy and Commerce committee including the 1992 Cable Act and the 1996 Telecommunications Act. He drafted legislation and amendments on environmental, transportation and budget issues, and coordinated message development with the congressman's chief of staff and district director. Mr. Aliferis also organized outreach efforts to business and community groups.

Mr. Aliferis also served as a congressional intern to Congressman Robert Davis and an assistant to the director of public affairs for the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Potter is a government affairs analyst at K&L Gates and focuses on federal policy. He represents corporate, trade association and non-profit clients on a wide range of issues before both houses of Congress as well as the Executive Branch. He works with the firm's clients and lobbyists to design and implement legislative strategies and proposals to develop Congressional and grassroots support for client priorities and counsels clients with regard to advocating issues before Congress. He has assisted numerous clients in securing and increasing federal funding for priorities ranging from development of energy efficient technologies to security preparedness.

For nine years, Mr. Potter has served as the pro bono government affairs advisor to the USA Science & Engineering Festival, the nation's largest effort to attract America's youth to careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Under his leadership, the Festival's inaugural Washington, D.C. Expo in 2010 featured the participation of 50 federal government agencies. That year, the U.S. Senate and House unanimously passed resolutions of support for the Festival. The most recent Festival Expo in 2018 included over 80 federal agency participants.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Potter worked on the staff of Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX) where he focused on health care and Social Security policy.